Amazon: Estate rear body to tailgate seal fitting

[HWKWallis]

Has anybody hands on experience of fitting the really long seal which runs around the tailgate and hatch opening on the body of a wagon?
It's the one which is intended to have the seal foot go into the channel on the body.

I've changed all the other seals on the tailgate - fitted the (near straight) channel ones by sliding in from one end to the other with some fairy liquid as lubricant.
Given the length of this seal and the path it takes I wondered if that was the way to try.....

thanks

Jim

[HWKWallis]

Update:

Went ahead and attempted to slide it all the way around; 95% success.

Process was:
1. Run a short offcut from the other seals around the channels with fairy liquid to get them lubricated and to confirm it would pass.
2. Clean out any tight spots etc until passable.
3. Channels on my car had a break at the top in the centre and just below the top corners on both sides. Started on the top LHS running downward with gravity and continued around the LHS lower corner until reaching the RHS lower corner.
4. Started the other end of the seal in the top middle and ran in the opposite direction to meet the other end at the lower RHS where the join will be.
5. This created a bow of seal not in the channel between the top middle and original start point at the top LHS which could be manipulated into the channel with some careful use of a small blunt screwdriver (looking down from the top).

All took a lot of easing an inch at a time etc using the gaps to help depress the seal into the channel and checking it doesn't jump free.
Corners the worse until you could get some distance around them onto the straight when they would run more freely; very much a case of remembering to press down as well as pull along channel so you don't pull it out again.
A little stretching of the seal around the corners definately helped.

95% success only because in running the second end around one of the corners the seal foot detatched from the rubber for a couple of inches due to my early rough handling; will glue back when sealing the join so fingers crossed will be as effective as can be expected.

Used the same approach for the top edge body seal....using the gap in the channel at the centre to go one way then the next and manipulating the centre back in with the screw driver.

Glad that's over!

[Derek UK]

Stretching rubbers around corners is usually a bad move and may cause them to come adrift there at a later date. My view is to try and do just the opposite and allow the rubber to make a natural curve.

[HWKWallis]

Stretched them to help transit the corner....I went around the whole seal and released any tension I could spot after the entire process to hopefully avoid that as you note!